Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has urged cement manufacturers in Nigeria to do more to keep the price of their products stable and affordable.
Dangiwa said this in the wake of the recent increase in the price of cement across Nigeria with the product reportedly selling for as much as N15,000 in some states.
According to Dangiwa, an increase in the price of cement and other building materials will cause a crisis for housing delivery and the construction industry in the country.
By effect, he said more Nigerians can no longer afford to own houses and provide decent shelter for themselves and their loved ones.Â
“Over the last couple of months, we have witnessed a steady, recurring, and alarming increase in the prices of cement and other building materials,” Dangiwa said on X.
“The situation has worsened in the past couple of weeks, with the price of a bag of cement in some parts of the country reported to be as high as over N10,000.
“So, on Tuesday we convened a meeting with the building materials manufacturers, particularly cement manufacturers. At the meeting I expressed the government’s displeasure at the recurring disproportionate increases in the price of building materials by cement manufacturers.
“This is because we believe that the cement manufacturers can do more to keep the prices stable.”
Dangiwa said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is not unaware of the macroeconomic challenges that Nigeria is currently facing.
He described the macroeconomic challenges as the volatility in the country’s foreign exchange market, the naira-dollar rate and the impact on business operations.
However, he said the Housing Ministry also knows that most of the key components; raw materials for producing building materials, especially cement, are locally sourced.
The Housing Minister stated that the key input materials such as limestone, clay, silica sand within the Nigerian border should not be dollar-rated.      Â
“At the end of the meeting, we set up a technical committee comprising ministry staff and representatives of cement and building manufacturers to clearly outline, analyze and validate the concerns raised by cement manufacturers,” Dangiwa said.
“While we insist that they can do more despite challenges, we are ready to present valid challenges that they face in an Emergency Council Memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for consideration.”            Â
